Stories of Blood
by Lily Kalanoa
Summary: Crossover with Gundam Wing. The Gboys have been kidnapped! Two good demons rescue them, but this brings even worse problems. IMPORTANT! I am not dead! Please see chapter one for details
1. Strangers In A Strange World

This idea has been done several times in the past and this is just my version of it. A crossover between Gundam Wing and Yu Yu Hakusho. I own neither world, but I love tormenting the characters. So, on with the show.

Hello again. Kalanoa smiles sheepishly and waves to everyone who actualy remembers her First I want to appologise for this fic and my blatant dissappearing. I know it's been a long time and I know a lot of you probably gave up on me. I don't really want to bore you all with the details, but it has a lot to do with personal problems and serious depression. I am feeling much better now, thank you. I am continuing this story, hopefully without dissappearing any more. Look for the next couple chapters in a week or so. I know I've been flakey, but I'm truly honored that you all like this story so much and I'm particularly grateful to past readers who have returned to read again. I will try my best not to take long with the rest of this, but I'm still not done writing the last couple chappies. Most likely, I will also be reposting these first chappies (if they need editing) at least to change the author's notes. I do hope you keep reading, I will try hard to finish this for all of you.

A small additional apology to anyone who saw the updated summary and checked this before chapter 1 was up. I have now discovered that my laptop doesn't upload to for some reason and have to use a different computer. Problem solved, won't happen again

I have two special 'thank you's. First, there is an author on named Tsutsuji. He (?) is a wonderful writer with several excellent stories. His enormous talent has sparked me into a writing mood and I'm getting a lot of work done on several of my stories, even finishing many unfinished pieces. Secondly, ilovekenshin. This review came to me only a few days ago and has (thankfully) turned that creative writing flare to this story specifically. So thank you to both of you, and all my other reviewers. Heck, even the people that read without dropping a line inspire me and fill me with contentment. Thank you all.

* * *

Quatre stared at the blank ceiling above him. It was so lifeless and cold. He shivered. This entire place was lifeless and cold, why should he expect the ceiling to be any different? There was a soft groan from beside him and he knew Duo was waking up. Absently he wondered where WuFei had been taken, he wasn't in the same room. 

"Q . . . Q-man? What's going on?"

Quatre held his breath, waiting for the gruff voice to sound. He didn't wait long. "Keep quiet, slave. Don't struggle, don't speak, and we won't have to rough up the merchandise."

"Mershandise? What are you talking about? Who are -" There was the sound of crackling electricity and Duo let out a shriek.

Slowly Quatre's hand went to his own throat where a thin metal band had been attatched. It had only taken once to convince him to obey the rules, no matter how much he disliked it. The band could, apparently, send electricity coursing through his body at the guard's discretion. But he knew, Duo wouldn't be so wise.

"What the _hell_ was that for! What the hell _was_ that?"

"Silence!" The sound and smell of burning flesh appeared once again.

There was a minute or two of silence and Quatre thought Duo had actually conceaded. No such luck. "What's the big deal? I only want to talk to my friend!" Another scream and another stretch of silence. "But . . . But, Q-man." Quatre could hear his friend's strength fading as he screamed out again.

"Keep your mouth shut, Ningen! Slaves aren't made for talking."

"That's funny, I thought I had a mouth, and look, sound is coming out." Typical smartass Duo. Poor guy. He groaned loudly and coughed a couple times. "I only want to talk to my friend. What harm is there in that?"

His scream peirced the air yet again. How many was that? Five? Six? Quatre had lost count. He opened his mouth, deciding to risk a shock himself. "Duo, stop. Just be quiet." He braced for the shock, but none came. _Probably 'cause I'm helping them_ he thought bitterly.

"But, Quatre. You're not just going to give up, are you?" Another shock, another scream.

"Duo, please. Shut up." He heard no reply and the blond let out a soft sigh. _I wish we could do something._

"Well, I'm not going to let some freak shut me up! I'm Shini-" Quatre listened to his friend's cry and let a small smile grace his cracked lips. _Don't give up, buddy._

The huge creature forced the two young boys up the ramp and onto what appeared to be a stage. They stood, Duo muttering under his breath, as the guard disappeared again. There were plenty of other creatures to quell any thoughts of escape, though. Standing some seven feet tall and at least half that wide and covered in disgusting blueish slime, the stench of the monsters alone was enough to keep any sensible person at bay.

The escort guard reappeared on the ramp half pushing, half carrying a struggling and cursing WuFei. The Chinese youth was bound around the chest, pinning his arms, and then again at the wrists. Duo immediately opened his mouth. "Hey! How come _we_ aren't tied up! I'm at least as dangerous as Wu-man!" There was a loud crackling and Quatre watched as his friend twitched. The loud American seemed to be building an endurance to the electric shocks - no surprise since he'd been hit with them nearly constantly for the three hours since he'd woken up.

Fei seemed exhausted and was, for the moment, not struggling that badly. Quatre noticed that smoke rose faintly from the ropes binding him. Apparently, he'd been getting at least as much 'punishment' as their braided friend. His eyes widened when he saw the blonde Arabian. "Quatre, are you all right!"

"No big hug hello for your lover?" Duo cried to the Chinese boy. Quatre expected to see the American twitch in pain, but nothing happened.

One of the demon creatures began slamming a small remote into his hand and cursing. "Stupid Ningen _broke _it! Someone get me more batteries, fast!"

Duo's face split ear to ear in a triumphant smile before his body jerked as new batteries were obviously found. The three boys were forced into chairs to wait for whatever was to come. Nothing better to occupy him, Quatre looked out to the front of the stage area as best he could. What he saw made his blood run cold. "Gods, Duo, WuFei! We're going to be auctioned off. There must be hundreds of demons out there!"

The blonde winced as he realized he had broken the strictly enforced silence, but no shock came. Instead one of the guards laughed, somehow worse than what the blonde had expected. "Of course, little human. It's not often we get humans in the Makai. You three will go for top dollar, at least a hundred silver a piece I'd say. Wish I could keep one of you myself, though. I hear humans make the best pets. Or, if not that, they make very tasty little snacks."

Kurama lifted a bit of jewelry from the stall he was at. It was a lovely piece of amber that sparkled golden in the sunlight. He smiled sadly and set it back down, the color was gorgeous, but it would clash horribly with his hair, no matter which of his forms he took. It was so hard to find things that matched silver or red, let alone both. He turned from the stand and continiued down the market street. Hiei would meet up with him soon, hopefully willing to buy him something. Kurama could easily buy himself anything he wanted – or get it another way – but it was so much nicer to have his love treat him to a gift.

"Hey, hey! You there! You look like a fine young youko!" Kurama groaned softly and tried to sidestep the salesdemon. Sadly, the barker had him in his sights and there was no escape. "How would you like to see a fine pick of young, strong, beautiful boys and girls?"

"I'm not interested in slaves." The only other thing he could be selling with that pitch was prostitutes. Kurama shuddered at that thought – even less appealing than slavery. "I'm just shopping."

"Oh, come now! Strong young demons, pretty little demonesses, children, adolescents, fully developed adults." Kurama tried once again to pull away. "I even hear we have a few ningens!" Kurama paused and looked at the demon whose eyes sparkled. "I knew I'd find something to catch your fancy."

Kurama tried to protest, but he had already given the opportunity. The wiry demon grabbed Kurama and teleported with him into the middle of a large crowd. He disappeared to find more customers, leaving the fox lost amongst those looking for slaves.

_Great, I hope Hiei can find me in this mess._ Kurama tried to wade to the edge of the crowd – challenging given the number of people moving the other way. He was just about to use his whip to clear a path when movement on the stage caught his eye.

A small boy was being herded into place by one of the youkai guards. Kurama's eyes swept over the boy, taking in his gently refined features and fragile frame. The auctioneer stepped in front of the boy, drawing the crowd's attention. "Well, so good to see you all here. And we have an excellent treat for all of you. Humans. Starting with this fine morsel here.

"As you can see, it's a fine human male. I know he looks a little weak, but he's very obidient! Can I hear an opening bid?" There was general mumbling from the crowd and several bids were yelled up to the stage. "Come, come. I know he doesn't look like much, but he's very strong. I think the little human deserves more than a few measly coins."

The bids continued, rising slowly but steadily. "Seventy gold for the blonde." The auctioneer blinked at the jump in the bids and nodded as no others came in. "Not too high a price for such a tasty looking snack."

The blonde's eyes narrowed and he frowned. After a miniscule pause, he ducked to the side, jamming his elbow back into the guard's stomach. He ran as fast as his legs would move until a shock ran through him, sending the small boy to the ground. The guard recovered from the hit and hefted the blonde clear off the ground. Kurama blinked as the blonde was handed to his purchaser like nothing more than a sack of potatoes.

"Here you are, Kitsune."

Kurama glanced down at Hiei as he appeared beside him in the crowd. "Aa. A barker grabbed me, couldn't get away through the crowd."

The fire demon was watching the stage as a boy with long braided hair was pushed out. He was complaining loudly about the previous boy's treatment in between cries of pain. "Ah, yes. This one has quite a mouth, but generally easy to control. Shall we start the bidding?"

Hiei was about to turn away and leave the disgusting show. Both he and Kurama detested slavery. It was the product of sick, demented minds and sad, pitiful people. Someone bumped the fire demon's shoulder, drawing his attention. "Gods, Duo." It was another human forcing his way through the crowd towards the stage. Hiei wrinkled his brow, what in the three worlds were so many humans doing in the Makai?

Another, slightly taller boy forced his way through the crowd, clearly following the first. But Hiei had no time to focus on the Ningens in the crowd as the stage errupted in battle. A third boy, this one with short dark hair, had managed to get hold of a sword and was swinging it at the guard nearest him. Kurama placed a hand on his love's shoulder. "Shall we help the boy?" Hiei nodded at once and flitted over to the stage.

Fei, still bound, focused through the shocks and charged his captor. All too easily, his blow was deflected and he was disarmed. The huge sword came down on the youth and WuFei braced for the blow, eyes open and accepting his fate. At the last moment, a katana shot beneath the blade, halting the attack. The youkai guard was quickly killed and Fei collapsed onto the ground, finally succumbing to his pain, energy spent.

At the front of the stage, Duo had taken WuFei's cue and was attempting to free himself from his captor and escape into the crowd. Heero had already shot several of the guards and was now busy wrestling with another. Kurama leapt up to the auctioneer. "I'll give you three hundred silver for the humans, no arguments."

Hurridly, the frightened youkai agreed, snatching up the coin purse and hurrying off. Kurama moved to where Duo was still struggling and quietly blew a pollen into the air. Almost immediately, Duo and the youkai collapsed onto the ground, caughing and gasping for air. The fox held his hands up in a gesture of peace as he found Heero's gun trained on him. It looked like the ningen was about to fire when Hiei appeared beside him, disarming the boy in one quick motion. Not deterred by the loss of his weapon, Heero would have certainly tackled the sanjiyan, but Kurama placed a hand on his shoulder. "Please, we need to leave." The unexpected gentleness made Heero pause long enough for Kurama to scatter another pollen into the air. The perfect soldier went down, fast asleep. Kurama lifted the boy and hurried from the stage. He quickly spotted Trowa amongst the crowd, he'd been trying to follow the blonde youkai that had purchased the first human.

Hiei returned to where Fei was and carefully helped him to his feet. "You're a good warrior. Fighting, even through that pain."

WuFei, slightly more singed than he began, looked at his rescuer. Unable to stand on his own, he leaned heavily against the slight man. "Hai, thanks. I don't think I can move." The slightest grin passed over Hiei's lips and he lifted the human and dashed after Kurama.

* * *

Well, hello to you all. Here you have the first chapter in what has grown to be quite an epic crossover I know I dissappeared for a while, but now I actually have some time to work on this, so I'll be getting it posted at last. In any case, this is my story, so I hope you like it!

* * *


	2. As If Their Lives Weren't Weird Enough

Well, here's the second chapter. Again, I appologize for my absence from this story.

* * *

Heero sat propped against a tree, wrestling his home made bandage over the small but deep cut on his forearm. He cursed slightly and began the effort anew, glancing up at the others for an instant. Duo stood icily still as Hiei took careful aim with his katana and sliced the collar off of the pale teen. WuFei, having already been freed of his bonds, lay on the ground groaning and caughing occasionally.

Kurama reached up to his head, absently smoothing his long silver hair as he stared at the boys. "So . . . How exactly did you get here?"

There was a moment of silence before Trowa spoke up. "Our friends were captured and we followed, simple as that."

The braided boy – who was still rather pale – snorted. "This isn't supposed to happen. I mean, the war's over! We're supposed to get a break."

"Hn." Was Heero's only response.

Hiei looked over the humans slowly. These _kids_ were involved in the war in Ningenkai? And now demons had kidnapped them and brought them to Makai. "Koenma is going to throw a fit if he finds out about this."

"What do you mean _if_ I find out?" The sudden, nasal voice made even Hiei and Heero jump slightly, the latter reaching for a gun that was no longer there, not that he had any ammo left anyway. The toddler ruler of Reikai stepped from between the trees, glaring at Hiei. "And you're darn right I'm going to throw a fit, the three worlds just got back in balance!"

"Koenma-sama, it's not a big deal. We'll just send them back and that will be that." Kurama flashed his best smile, trying to quell the impending tantrum.

"What about Quatre?" Asked the pilot of heavyarms.

Kurama looked away, face darkening. "Gomen . . . I doubt he, I mean it's unlikely he'll survive long enough for us to find him."

Trowa glared at the fox. "I won't leave him." He turned into the forest, determined to find his Quatre . . . somehow.

"Matte, there's no need for that." Koenma called out to the boy. "I actually think he is most definitely alive." There was a moment of silence, everyone waiting for an explanation. Koenma shuffled his feet nervously. "We, uh, received a ransom letter. Sort of."

Immediately, the letter was snatched away by Heero, then Trowa, finally coming to rest in Kurama's hands. He read the note quickly, eyes widening. The pilots and one fire demon around him glared slightly. "What does it say?" demanded Duo who was trying to jump up to read the note over the fox's shoulder.

Kurama sighed, then drew a breath to read the note aloud. "'If you want to see the blonde again, come unarmed to the Northern forest in nine days. He will be alive, but only if you do not act foolishly. Then you can join him in his fate.'"

The boys stood in silence a moment before curses went through the group. "There's more," the godling said, silencing them. "These boys weren't chosen at random. Hiei, Kurama, we need to get the others together for this one. I'll explain everything once they get here."

* * *

Quatre looked quietly up at the ceiling of his current room. Another cold, unfamiliar slab of rock or whatever the buildings in this strange land were made out of. He looked over to the door of the small room as he heard something outside. Well, _felt_ something outside was a better way to put it. He stared at the rotting wood for nearly a full minute before it opened to reveal a very large blonde man. Or . . . creature. He certainly _looked_ like a man, but he had to be some sort of monster, just like the rest of the creatures in this world. Quatre tried to scoot away from him, but his back was already against the wall and there was no where else to go.

The man walked forward. "Don't worry, little blonde, I'm not going to kill you. Yet. I came to see how you were. No broken bones? Loss of feeling in your limbs? Headache?" He moved within arms length of Quatre and bent down to examine him closer. "That last shock was pretty big, I want to make sure I didn't pay for damaged goods."

Quatre swallowed the lump in his throat. "What do you want with me?" It had become obvious he hadn't been bought just for a cheap snack.

The man chuckled. "It is a shame I will have to kill you, little one. You are quite beautiful and I do so hate to waste that. But it is not you I am after, but your ancestors."

"My ancestors? What . . ?"

"No, of course you wouldn't know. The yokai blood has thinned far to much for you to make any use or sense of it at all. But they know. I can garauntee they know. And I'll make sure they suffer."

Quatre pushed harder against the wall. This creep wasn't making sense at all. Suddenly, the man had shoved something into Quatre's stomach. Quatre's eyes lost focus and red and black spots filled his vision. His hands went instinctively to the dagger, gripping the part of the blade that had not split his flesh and adding more of his blood to it.

The man laughed coldly. "So beautiful, even in pain! It is a shame it had to be you. But don't worry, your friends will come soon enough. And then you can die and the suffering will be over. Sleep now, little blonde. It will seem clearer in the morning." Quatre fought the darkness that had begun to steal his sight. He had to stay awake, had to do something to defend himself. It was no use, though, and he dropped into unconsiousness listening to the insanity of his captor. "Sleep. They'll be here soon, then it will be better. Go to sleep, little one. My Quatre."

* * *

"Who the hell did you guys piss off this bad?" WuFei was muttering under his breath.

An equally grumpy Yuusuke glared at him. "How long have you got? The list should only take a few days."

"Yeah," came Kuwabara's voice, "But most of them are dead or in prison. And the ones that aren't are too dumb, weak or scared to try something like this."

Yukina leaned against her beloved and looked at Koenma. "But, why these boys? They're warriors, difficult to deal with. Why go after such difficult targets? And what does it have to do with us?"

Koenma looked out the window. "Wait for Botan, she should have the detector." Puzzled looks were directed at the toddler. Almost as if hearing her name, Botan appeared through the opening on her oar holding a small box. Koenma took the box and opened it, examining the contents before nodding and looking up.

"There is no easy way to explain this. I believe that these boys were chosen because of their pasts. About fifteen years ago, or maybe it was more recent than that . . . there was a breech in the barrier between worlds. Actually, I think I sent you guys to investigate it. Anyway, several things happened then. The war was just starting and, though whatever broke through the barrier didn't affect the start, they most certainly helped determine the finish. A number of children, some hundred or so, I believe, went missing. Turns out they were kidnapped as potential fighters in the brewing war. These boys, though not in the original potentials, were selected. I think that was why the demon or demons went to Ningenkai. To ensure it was these boys. A little after that time, I discovered that youkai blood was influencing the path of the war and there were several threats made on the lives of my tantei. If I'm right, your own descendants were meant to be used against you."

Yuusuke frowned. "This is all very educational and disturbing, but what has it got to do with us?"

The boy received glares from Kurama, Hiei, and the Gundam boys save one. Duo looked puzzled, "I don't get it either. I mean, so what?"

WuFei stepped towards his lover, annoyance making him forget the pain of his body. He smacked the braided pilot. "Baka! He's saying that _we_ are _their_ progeny!"

Duo's mouth dropped open and he looked at the godling for confirmation. "That's what this is for!" Botan cheered, removing the 'detector' from it's box. It looked like an odd sort of monocular crossed with a gun, the handle sticking out of the bottom at an odd angle.

Koenma took the thing and approached Heero. "We're going to find out if this theory of mine is right." He thrust the thing at his first victim. "Just take the handle and let me look into it." A bit shocked, Heero complied.

Several seconds passed in silence. Then minutes. After about five minutes, Koenma turned to Botan. "You have the book?"

"Hai, Koenma-sama." She extracted a book from the sleeve of her kimono, larger than her book of deaths.

Koenma looked into the detector again. "Check Yuusuke, four or five generations I think."

"Hai." The blue haired girl flipped quickly through the pages. "Here it is. Yuusuke had a son, who had a daughter, who had another daughter. One Erik disappeared as a baby from her home when there was an attack on the house." She looked up. "He's the right age and physical type. We have our first match!" She smiled, raising one finger into the air.

Heero and Yuusuke exchanged an odd look. "Hn." They both said, eliciting a chuckle from most of the room.

Koenma then turned his attention to the next nearest boy – the lucky Trowa. He had the detector jammed into his hand and Koenma bent again. The silence stretched nearly ten minutes this time before Koenma grumbled and pulled away. "We'll come back to you." he turned to WuFei who took the device before it was even offered to him and waited. Koenma let out a growl. "Darn it, I can see the power, I know it's there. Definitely about fifth generation away. But I can't figure out where it's from!" He straightened. "Well, it's not any of the tantei, so I guess that settles that."

He rounded on Duo, but paused before he reached him. He snapped his fingers and his face lit up. "Human! Of course." He turned back to Trowa to confirm the hypothesis. "Definitely some power there, but you're human, not youkai." His grin widened. "My record is improving." He rounded on Duo, offering the device.

Hesitantly, the final pilot took it and waited expectantly. Koenma glanced into it and immediately looked up again. "I'll have to talk to you later." More than a little confused, Duo nodded as the god retreated.

"I checked on the way over here," said Botan pointing at the book again. "Yukina, I'm sorry. I'm pretty sure Quatre is your great grandson."

The ice demoness shudered and clutched at her husbands jacket. "We have to get him back." She sobbed.

* * *

If anyone is wondering, I've basically made the assumption that Yuusuke and Kuwabara have both been granted demonic life-spans. Also known as I'm too damn lazy to write this fic without them. However, you will not be seing Keiko as she was human no matter how you look at it and the writer in me just couldn't justify her still being alive. sighs Oh well. Probably no one out there is finicky enough to care anyway.


	3. Some Memories are Best Left Forgotten

Hello all. I still own nothing, so don't sue me. And enjoy!

* * *

Kurama went about setting up guest futons throughout the house he shared with his fire demon koi and made dinner for the boys that were staying with them for the night. Koenma took the two demons aside as the humans got ready for bed. "We have to work on this right away, you realise that, right?"

"Of course," Kurama looked back at the living room where most of his guests were asleep. "We have to help them. And if what you told us is true, we have to be ready for this mysterious enemy to attack again."

Koenma nodded. "It would be a good idea to train the boys to fight. Let them find their powers and cultivate them. It could be several days before we can do anything, we have to keep their minds occupied or they may try something . . . unwise."

Hiei was scowling in thought. "I can't figure something out," he said at last. "How is it that these boys – specifically the tantei's descendants – were involved as much as they were in the war in Ningenkai?"

Koenma let out a sigh, revealing that Hiei had struck on something big. "Well, you're right that it's no coincidence. But, I think that's something for later. Right now you need to worry about the mission at hand. Deal?"

Hiei scowled, grabbing for the god as he disappeared. "Stupid brat, answer my question!" But Koenma was already gone and Hiei was left yelling at thin air. He turned to Kurama with the distinct feeling he was missing something important.

The redhead had already gone into the living room of their small home where the boys had already fallen asleep. He bent, covering Duo with a blanket and then stood in silence watching him. Hiei came up to him hesitantly. "Love?"

"He looks just like him."

"But he's not. He can't be, Koenma would have told us. Kurama . . ."

"I know it's not really him. But I miss him. Hiei, I miss him so much." Kurama knelt, burrying his face in Hiei's chest. They stayed that way for a while before moving to their own bed to fall into blissfull sleep.

--Flashback--

"_Is this really what you want? Hiei, don't let me force you into it."_

"_Fox, this is my choice too. I'm ready for this." The fire demon kissed Kurama deeply to prove his point._

"_We must see Koenma then. And pray he goes along with this."_

_The two demons went to the Reikai, determined to get what they wanted from the godling. Koenma greeted them in his office with a smile. "What can I do for two of my favorite youkai?"_

_Hiei looked away from the god, a slight blush creeping over his cheeks. Seeing his lover's discomfort, Kurama took the initiative. "Koenma-sama. We . . . we have a favor to ask of you."_

_The toddler's eyebrow arched. "Yes? What is it?"_

"_We . . . uh . . ." Kurama faltered. This was indeed a lot more embarrissing than he thought it would be. "We . . ."_

"_We want a child." Hiei sudenly overcame his bout of shyness and locked Koenma with his most serious gaze._

_The god seemed taken aback. "A . . . child? But, you're both male."_

"_Infant ruler, master of the obvious. That is why we came to you!"_

_Kurama set a hand on Hiei's shoulder. "Polite. We need his help, don't insult him." He turned his gaze to Koenma. "Please, Koenma-sama, will you help us?" Kurama bowed deeply and after a moment, Hiei bowed as well._

_Koenma still seemed stunned. "Well, I guess it wouldn't be that bad. I mean, you certainly deserve it . . ."_

"_After all we've done for you, you know we deserve it!"_

"_Hiei, be polite!"_

_Hiei grumbled. "What I mean is, we've done a lot for you, Koenma-sama. Don't you think you could do us this one little favor? Please?"_

_Koenma nodded with a great deal of reluctance. If it was important enough to them for Hiei to actually keep his manners in check. . . "All right. I'll ask my father. We do owe you after all. Come back tomorrow."_

_The rest of the day was spent in nervous anticipation as the lovers worried over whether Enma-daioh would agree or not. The next morning they went back almost as soon as the sun had risen, unable to wait any longer. Again Koenma greeted the two tantei with a smile._

_Kurama hardly waited for the door to close before asking. "Well? What's the good news?"_

_Koenma held up one hand to silence the anxious fox. "Calm down, Kurama. I have someone I want you two to meet." The godling stood and walked to the other side of his office. He turned around and looked at the pair still standing motionless. "Well, come on!"_

_Kurama and Hiei followed and stood quietly as Koenma held up a small basket. "Here he is."_

_Kurama's eyes widened and he drew in a shakey breath. Two huge, indigo eyes stared up at the fox while tiny hands reached up towards him. Carefully, the fox lifted the tiny boy. "He's gorgeous."_

_Hiei's eyes shone with adoration for the infant that was tangling himself in Kurama's hair. "Koenma-sama. Thank you."_

_Koenma smiled at the fire demon's actual show of respect. "My father used a bit of each of your power to do this. He truly is your son. Go introduce him to his life."_

_Hiei smiled and took his son. Kurama beemed, wrapping Koenma in a tight hug. "Thank you so much, Koenma-sama. We owe you big time."_

_The three got along remarkably well. It seemed the new addition was just what the two lovers needed in their lives. However, not more than a week passed before their new little world shattered. Kurama returned home from shopping and smelled something strange on the wind. He sniffed the air, trying to place the odd odor. His eyes widened in recognition. It was a powerful sedative, one he often used himself._

_The baby._

_Kurama burst into the house, running straight to the small nursery. Hiei was coughing from the floor, only just waking up, it seemed. He spotted his love and had to fight back tears. "Kurama . . . I couldn't stop him."_

_It was too much. Kurama burst into tears, running to Hiei and burrying his face. The two didn't move for a long time. It was weeks before either of them left the house._

--End--

* * *

"What did you want to talk to me about?"

Koenma looked at Duo, who was dangling by his knees from a tree branch and munching on a treat Kurama had prepared specially for him. "It's about your ancestry, Duo."

The braided boy arched his eyebrow and swallowed the bite of food. "Didja figure it out?" He swayed slightly, causing his braid to drag a trail in the dirt below his head.

"Oh, I never had any doubt about it. But I couldn't tell you with everyone there. This is serious Duo."

"You aren't going to tell the others?" Duo flipped down to the ground, natural grace landing him on his feet. "Shouldn't they know?"

"If you decide to tell them, then you can do it." Duo kept quiet, sensing the tension in the toddler god. "You should really sit down for this."

* * *

Well, I told you I'd get the next chapter up, right? Not much substance to this one, but some really nice back story. Compliment me on my backstory! Er...or not. Whatever. But do please review. The next chapter should be up in only a few days, I promise. 


	4. New Powers, Same Problems

Hello, all. I know you have heard from me in ages. I'm usually pretty good about posting on time, I guess this story is the exception to that. So, I will no longer set a date for the next chapter, I'll just try to get them up faster. Which means of course I'll start getting them up every other week or so because I haven't promised that, right? Oh well, whatever. I hope you enjoy this and I'll see you all later

* * *

Hiei stood in the center of the room, sword held steady before him. He went through a series of moves, too fast for anyone to see. Around the edge of the room, WuFei, Heero, and Trowa were watching closely. Hiei reached the end of the set and sheathed his weapon. He went straight into a set of martial arts forms. Finally, he finished and stood for a moment to gather his breath.

WuFei let out a soft whistle. "Sugoi. That was amazing."

Hiei turned to look at the Chinese youth. "Could you even follow the moves?" He asked, more than a little edge to his voice.

"Most of them, yes."

Hiei eyed the boy for a moment. If he could follow the individual moves with little effort . . . Hiei wished Koenma would have taken the time to figure out where the boy's youki came from. This boy was potentially a bigger threat than the enemy.

WuFei and Heero left the room shortly after that to explore the forest around their current residence. Hiei fixed his gaze on Trowa, who hadn't moved at all. "Shouldn't you be doing something? You don't want to go with them?" Trowa looked up for a moment, then back towards the ground without a word. Hiei frowned, years with his fox having made him worry more about others. "What's wrong, Trowa?"

The banged pilot was silent for a few minutes before answering. "He's hurt. He's in so much pain, I can feel it."

"Quatre?"

"We have to help him. Soon."

Hiei sat leaning against the wall. "We'll save him. You have to believe that."

Trowa shook his head, pulling his knees more tightly into his chest. "You don't understand. You can't feel it. Hiei, he's dying." A sob dragged it's way from Trowa's throat.

Hiei didn't know what to say. He didn't even share that strong a bond with Kurama. It was true that he didn't know what Trowa was going through. But it was also true that he knew what it was like to be worried about a lover. He placed a comforting hand on the boy's shoulder. "We _will_ save him."

Trowa nodded. "We have to."

* * *

Quatre forced his eyes open. There was no thought of escape, no thought of fighting. He just wanted to survive. There was no light, no way to tell if it was day or night, no way to know how long he'd been out. Hesitantly, Quatre tried to move.

Mistake.

No sooner had he begun to access the muscles in his stomach to turn over, than Quatre remembered exactly why he had been unconsious. The wound in his stomach made it impossible to move even the slightest. He bit back cries of pain and focused on breathing. Gods, even breathing hurt!

Cold laughter rang through the tiny room. "You're finally awake. I was beginning to think I'd gone to deep with the dagger."

Quatre held still, not daring to move or speak. His mind began working overtime; he had to think of a way out. The man came over and set a hand gently on Quatre's stomach. Without thinking, Quatre's hands shot up to grip the man's arm at the elbow. A look of panic crossed his face.

The man laughed again. "Don't be frightened. I'm not going to kill you. Yet. In fact, I won't even hurt you this time. Too much too fast and I'll lose my leverage. I can't touch you until you recover some. So you can rest easy. For now."

Quatre didn't loosen his grip. "Why are you doing this to me?" His voice was small and frightened. Unrecognizable.

"Because through you, I can get to them. And I _will_ make them pay." The man was increasing his pressure on Quatre's stomach, causing the blonde to squeak in pain and try to fight back. It took a moment for the man to realize and back off. "Heh, sorry about that. Your own fault for asking questions I don't want to answer. Sit tight, I'm going to send a healer in to work on you."

The man left, leaving Quatre seeing spots and fighting to stay awake. It was several minutes before Quatre heard the door open again. He turned his head to see a small girl in a tattered purple kimono come in. She met his eyes through messy brown bangs for a moment before quickly looking away. Quatre watched as she moved across the room. She placed a hand over his wound and Quatre could feel a warmth flood his body. "Thank you."

She met his eyes again. "I'm sorry I have to do this. I don't have a choice."

"Why should you be sorry for helping me?"

The girl pulled away, eyes still locked on his. "The sooner you get better, the sooner he'll hurt you again. And I'm a part of it."

Quatre pushed himself up. "You don't have to be sorry. It's not your fault."

She shook her head. "Be careful. I didn't finish, with any luck you've got a few hours of peace at least. I'm sorry I can't do more."

Quatre reached for the girl's arm, gently grabbing her wrist. "Are you a prisoner here?"

"I was bought. Same as you. I don't think he wanted me for any reason other than a slave though. I really don't have it that bad."

"My name's Quatre."

She hesitated a moment before giving him a small smile. "Terri."

Quatre smiled and leaned back. "I hope I see you again soon."

Terri looked away. "I hope you don't. But, if we do, I wouldn't mind. Goodbye, Quatre." She left without looking back.

Quatre didn't know how long he lay there. He couldn't keep track of time through the dull pain that still coursed through his body. But eventually, the door creaked open again. Quatre didn't need to look to know it was the man. He felt the overbearing presence as he crossed the room and laid a hand on the blonde's stomach. "She could have done better. I'll have to let her know that."

Quatre felt his pulse quicken. "What are you going to do to her?"

"I would be more concerned about what I'm going to do to you, little boy."

Quatre fought to stay calm. "Please, don't hurt her. It was my idea. You can't touch me if I'm still hurt after all."

The man moved his hand to cup Quatre's throat with a warning squeeze. "Don't test me, Quatre. You wouldn't like the results." Quatre forced himself to lay still. He wouldn't fight, his best defense right now was to just lay still. After a pause, the man moved away. "But you're right. I'll have to wait until later to do anything really fun. But don't think you've gotten off the hook. I'll see you tonight." And with that, he left.

Quatre breathed out a sigh of releif as the door latched again. "Trowa, where are you?"

* * *

"I just don't see it. This brat can't be related to me."

Kurama looked from Yuusuke to Heero and back. "I don't know, I can see it pretty well. Same stubborness, same proficiency at fighting. Tell me, is Heero easy to anger?"

WuFei snorted, trying to bite back a laugh. "Is he? Barely insult him and he's promising your death!"

Kuwabara was smiling now, too. "He's just like you, Yuusuke."

The former spirit detective scowled, perfectly matching the look on Heero's face. Yukina giggled softly and stepped forward. "That's enough, everyone! We have to get to work, we have to be ready!"

Heero nodded, instantly ready to get to work. "Where'd Duo go?"

Kurama looked around, noticing the braided boy's absence. "He's been talking with Koenma all day. I'm sure he'll be back soon."

Hiei walked to the center of the room. "Come on, we'll start without him. Pair off with someone to train." Hiei walked over to WuFei and led him aside. "I'll start with you."

Kurama went over to Heero, Yuusuke following, and Kuwabara and Yukina went over to Trowa. Heero immediately started meditating, imitating everything Yuusuke did and trying to gather his ki to a point. Trowa was doing about the same thing, watching in fascination as Kuwabara formed and reformed his spirit blade and explained it in rather simple terms.

WuFei watched his friends for a few minutes before turning to Hiei. "All right, how do we start?"

"Earlier, you said you could follow my moves, right?" WuFei nodded. "Well, that's a good place to start. Until we can figure out what form your ki is in, we'll work with what you've got. Let's go." Hiei lunged at WuFei. The Chinese boy dodged and began sparring with the fire demon. Slowly, Hiei increased the speed, hoping to draw out some of WuFei's youki power.

Finally, Hiei landed a punch and the other boy went down. He hadn't gotten the speed up that much, he had thought, but he supposed it was faster than any normal human would have been able to go. He offered his hand. "Can you go again?" WuFei nodded and stood without the offered assistance, getting ready for the next round.

* * *

Heero cursed and punched at Yuusuke. The raven haired man dodged, slapping his fist away with a laugh. "Come on, I thought you were mad at me!"

"I'm going to pummel you into the ground, Urameshi. Omae o kurosu." Heero's voice was deathly quiet as he charged the other man again.

Yukina clasped her hands together in front of her. She turned worried eyes upon Kurama. "What happened? Why aren't they working?"

Kurama let out a long-suffering sigh. "This isn't going well. Heero can't focus his energy at all and he just plain ran out of patience for his 'wise sensei'. This would be easier were Genkai still alive." He pulled his face into a smile and turned to the ice demon. "What about Trowa? I wasn't paying much attention, how's he doing?"

"Remarkably well, actually. He can't seem to produce a weapon like Kazuma-kun, but he's taken a likeing to fighting with a staff. He's able to actually pour his ki into it and it's proving to be extremely helpful, and powerful, too."

An enraged snarl brought Kurama's focus back to the fight in front of him. It had been Yuusuke, apparently just getting into the battle seriously. He practically flew at Heero, but the boy sidestepped and Yuusuke sailed past before turning. This put his back to Kurama as he faced his opponant and, as a result, the fox didn't see exactly what happened. One moment he was looking at the battle from several paces away, the next, he was pinned to the ground by Yuusuke's body.

The spirit detective was on his feet again immediately, but hesitated as he stared at Heero. Slowly, he raised one hand to his chest, feeling the bruise forming there, and smiled. "All right, I can live with that, too. Spirit gun or no, if you can put that much ki into your fist, you just may be one of the most helpful fighters here!"

Heero grunted and turned on his heel, stalking towards the kitchen.

Mere seconds later, another boy was knocked across the room, this one not getting up on his own. "Fei!" Kurama and Yukina chimed in unison. Kurama went to his side, helping the dazed boy sit up, and glared at a certain fire demon. "Hiei, go easy on him! You're supposed to be trying to train him, not beat him to death!"

Hiei snorted, but looked generally unconcerned. "It's his own fault for not keeping up. If he has no useable abilities, better we find out now and he doesn't get in our way."

Yukina was frowning at the short demon. "Hiei, that's a horrible thing to say." Hiei's expression softened slightly, but even before she'd finished speaking, WuFei was on his feet and heading towards the door. They let him go, thinking it would be better to let him cool down alone.

* * *

Nearly an hour had passed when Kurama walked outside to see what was taking WuFei. The pilot sat on the root of a tree, staring at his hands. Without noticing the fox, he stood and seemed to concentrate on something, but nothing happened.

"Hey, Fei, what's going on?"

The boy sighed and sat heavily again. "I can't get a hold of it. Everyone here has caught on to their powers right away. All I've got is a little speed boost and a bit more strength. I'm not really upset, it's just hard. I need that power to help Quatre, you know?"

Kurama sat beside the boy. "You need to relax. If you press it too hard, it'll never come." He held out his hand, slowly summoning his own power. WuFei nodded and imitated the process, to no avail. Kurama sighed. "I can see why you're frustrated. But we'll think of something."

"I told you, I'm _not_ frustrated. I'm just worried that I won't be able to help."

"I'm sure you just need more practice. Don't worry so much about it, it's something that will come naturally once you relax." The fox stood, a small smile on his lips as he went back into the house.

Fei continued to practice, not even noticing Hiei watching from the shadows. Suddenly Hiei's eyes widened. He recognized that power. Fei struggled, sensing the flicker of ki within himself, but unable to grasp it or bring it to any meaningful form. Hiei disappeared back into the house. Something would have to be done. If he was right about that boy's abilities . . . the Chinese youth could not be trusted.


	5. Now it begins to Make Sense

Hey. It's me again. Yeah, it's been awhile. Lucky for all of you, I'm very in the mood to finish this story. But I'm not much in the mood to ramble. So, know I don't own it. Know you'll probably see updates really soon. And Enjoy!

* * *

Duo had arrived late that night and was proudly showing off what Koenma had taught him. He focused, holding his hands out before him, and a small ball of black fire appeared. Discarding the bit of ki, Duo fished in his pocket for several knives and repeated the process, covering the blades with the dark fire. He hadn't noticed as WuFei slunk off to bed, a scowl on his face, or when Kurama wrinkled his brow in curious almost-recognition.

When Duo woke the next morning, he'd helped Kurama with breakfast before wandering off to train some more on his own. He had said he'd like to meet Kurama and Hiei in the woods nearby to discuss something private, but hadn't said more.

Now, Duo stood nervously in the small clearing, looking at Kurama and Hiei who stood against the trees. He paced closer to them, then back into the center of the clearing. After repeating the process a few times, he came to rest at last in front of the pair. "All right, um, we need to, and you know, I have to say, but the others-"

Hiei growled, clenching his fist. He reached out, smacking Duo roughly on the head. "Get on with it already! What did you bring us all the way out here for?"

Duo blinked, trying to think of how to put it best. "Well, you see, the thing is," Hiei raised his fist again, a vein pulsing in his forhead. "I'm not really sure how any of the others would react, but I really thought you guys should know."

Hiei growled and opened his mouth to say something impolite. Kurama took a step forward, interuppting him. "Know _what_, Duo?"

Duo gulped again, still not sure if he could actually get out the news verbally. Suddenly he cracked a grin, his inner jester getting the better of him, yet again. Flinging himself onto Hiei, he trapped the demon in a tight hug screaming, "Mommy!" He lept away almost instantly, knowing he'd be dodging a katana in a moment. He jumped into Kurama's arms. "Daddy! Save me from Mommy!"

Hiei had his weapon half unsheathed before he processed what Duo had actually said. Kurama was staring wide eyed at the boy in his arms, mouth open. Hiei recovered his voice first and pulled hard on Duo's braid, turning the boy's head around to look him in the eye. "What did you say?"

Duo climbed onto the ground again and stared at his feet. "Koenma told me yesterday. I . . . I wanted you to know."

No sooner had he finished speaking than Duo found himself once more in Kurama's arms, feet dangling in the air. "I can't believe it. Oh, Duo." Kurama was practically sobbing into Duo's braid. Hiei simply stared, mind drifting to one of the other boys. He was going to have to do something about WuFei. Hiei couldn't let someone like _that_ to date _his_ son.

* * *

WuFei was alone in the house. Everyone had gone into the forest to continue their training and he'd been left behind. _Duo wouldn't have gone without waking me. It had to have been Hiei._ The fire demon had become even colder toward him. He wasn't sure what he'd done to upset the short demon, but it was beginning to wear on his nerves. Duo had come back, quietly letting WuFei know about his relationship with the demons. And Hiei'd pulled Duo away again almost before he'd finished speaking.

WuFei sighed, forcing the developments from his mind. He could not change Hiei's attitude. Nor could he change the fact that Duo and Hiei were related. And since he certainly had no intention of changing his feelings for the braided boy, he would simply have to live with it. Which didn't make it any easier, of course.

And Duo was clueless. Honestly, the handsome boy could be thicker than Gundanium sometimes. He'd gone running around, showing off his powers. Flaunting them. Asking everyone how to do some simple task that was far beyond Any of the other pilots, let alone Fei. It had been humiliating, and Duo had no idea.

WuFei shook off the thoughts again. Brooding wasn't doing anything to improve his mood and there were more important things to do. Taking a deep breath to gather himself, WuFei began his morning exercises. Reaching the end of one set, he went to the kitchen, setting several dishes on the stove to prepare a meal. He continued his exercises, keeping a careful eye on the pots. It actually looked very graceful, almost dance like. At least, that's what WuFei's unknown observer thought.

It took an absurdly long time for Fei to notice he was being watched. He'd finished his exercises and most of his food before he noticed Hiei in the shadows. To his credit, the fire demon was going to great lengths not to be seen, and this annoyed WuFei to no ends. Even after detecting him, Fei went about as if he was still ignorant to the other's presence, waiting for him to make a move. Finally he could stand it no longer and spun on the shorter creature. WuFei glared at the fire demon. Hiei returned the gaze evenly, infuriating the Chinese youth. "Enough! What is it you have against me?"

Hiei's head lowered a little and he let out a growl. "You wouldn't understand."

WuFei snorted. "Don't bet on that. It's because of Duo, right? Or, more precisely, because I'm going out with your son."

Hiei growled again. "It isn't something you can change, so there's no point in discussing it."

"If I can't change it, that means it's something you can't hold against me. Something about how I was born or raised. Something in the past and irrelevant." He could see Hiei's jaw tighten, but the demon wasn't ready to give in yet, so Fei pressed his opening. "It is from my past then. Don't you understand that there are more important things? _I_ don't even know half of my past! This is like refusing to help Kurama just because he happens to be a fox. Or abandoning Yukina just because she's an ice princess. And I just bet you'd do something like that, too."

Hiei was visibly shaking with anger. "Your ancestor had nothing of value or quality, I don't expect you to have any more."

Fei was surprised at that. "Then you've figured out my ki and you haven't told me? One of my friends is in danger and you're withholding information that could save his life!" But Hiei was already gone. His form had become no more than a blur half way through Fei's outburst as he ran off. There was a strong sting on WuFei's arm and he looked down. "Oh, shit!" There, running from shoulder to elbow was a cut deep enough to require stitches.

"You're lucky he restrained himself, or that would be across your throat." Fei turned to see Kurama slide through the doorway. "You went too far when you said that about Yukina."

"Funny, I didn't know he had any nerves to hit."

Kurama gave him a stern look and began cleansing the deep cut. "She means a lot to him, and that bit about being abandonned just struck a little too close to home."

"What, the twerp was abandoned as a baby or something? It would serve him right."

"He was." WuFei looked at Kurama, surprised. He frowned up at the fox; he really had said the wrong thing.

"I still had a right to say it though. What he's doing isn't right. Prejudice, hmph. Injustice, more like it."

"That may be true. Let's focus on something else, shall we? How about your ki?"

WuFei attempted a growl, but it died into a disheartened moan. "Nothing. I know it's there, I've almost gotten it a few times now, but I just can't do it!"

"And Kuwabara hasn't been able to help?" He shook his head. Kurama pursed his lips thoughtfully, looking very much like a concerned mother. "Perhaps you need a focus. Yuusuke uses his finger, Hiei occasionally uses his sword. Try drawing all you ki into your hand."

WuFei looked down at his hand. Maybe the fox had a point. Anything to help Quatre. He made a fist, as if holding a sword, and focused on his ki. Nothing. He could feel his mouth slipping into a scowl as he tried again. He opened his fist, as if holding some object – though he had no idea what that object might be. He focused, letting his ki fill in the area until he would be holding whatever his ki formed as.

Kurama caught just a hint of the ki signiture before it flickered out. But it was enough. He looked up with a startled gasp, visions of explosions running through his mind. He stared at the boy before him, long dark hair hanging unbound in strands around his face. It was too close a resemblance. Kurama let out a short cry, jumping away from the youth.

Fei looked up, concentration broken and ki fading quickly. He noticed the deathly look on Kurama's face and the half wrapped state of his wound. "Kurama?"

The door opened to reveal most of the others, brought by the fox's outcry. Yuusuke and Heero went to him, trying to figure out what was wrong while Kuwabara and Trowa stood by Fei for his story. There was a moment of confussion before Hiei appeared beside Kurama, seemingly from nowhere, and Duo came running after him. From his position next to the fox, Hiei glared at WuFei. "What did you do?!"

Fei stared blankly, utterly confused as to what he _did_ do. "Karasu . . ." Kurama shook his head as if clearing away bad dreams. "I'm sorry . . . I just . . ."

Yuusuke frowned. "Karasu?" He turned to Fei and narrowed his eyes. "You know, you do look kinda like him. Around the eyes."

Four pairs of eyes looked at the former detective, confused. All four boys asked at once. "Who's Karasu?"

Kurama flinched slightly. "An old enemy that was supposed to have died quite some time ago. But he keeps showing up."

Kuwabara extended a hand to Fei, ignoring the murderous glare he was receiving from Hiei. "We should go then. At least now we have something to work with, ne?"

Fei, busy finishing dressing his wound, nodded and followed the tall boy from the room. He paused at the door, casting a glance back at Hiei. The little demon looked like he'd rather kill the boy than look at him. WuFei sighed, deciding he'd have to find more out about this Karasu character.


	6. Enemies revealed

Hello all, I told you I'm not dead. This is the repost of this new chappie to make it a little easier to understand, the next chapter will be up soon, expect with the week, it's mostly done. Thankss again for reading, I don't own it, enjoy

xxxxx

Everyone stood at the edge of the forest, looking into the mass of green. Koenma stepped just into the undergrowth and the forest seemed to swallow him, making him hardly visible through just three feet of vegetation. "Well, if we want to do anything at all, we have to find this guy, preferably before the meeting in three days. That means we have to search this forest. He's almost certain to be watching us, too, so he might use this time to attack or something. So, we'll split into three groups and search the forest. Stay with your group, we can't be too careful."

Heero nodded, muttering a sharp affirmative. He started immediately into the forest, Kuwabara and Yukina following quickly. Koenma motioned to Trowa and Yuusuke to follow him as he started off. WuFei paused, looking at Hiei and their respective lovers. "Maybe I should go with one of the others."

Duo frowned. "Nonsense! You'd never be able to catch up with them and I won't let you anyway." The four started walking and Hiei placed himself none to subtly between WuFei and the braided pilot. Duo just frowned harder. "Honestly, I don't know what you two have against each other. You're going to have to learn to live with each other if I want to keep up contact with you guys when we go back home."

Kurama frowned slightly. "Yes. When you go home. Well, we'll have to think of something, won't we."

The four walked in silence for a while before Hiei finally let out a sigh. "Koi, do you have any idea where we're going?" Kurama silently shook his head. "Well, can't you just ask the trees, Youko?"

"You know I can only do that with trees I know."

Duo stared. "You can talk to trees?"

"Well, do something, fox. It's not doing any good just getting lost."

Kurama sighed. His form flickered, red hair lightening to silver and growing longer. He stood still, face raised to the wind for a moment. "I smell something that way." Kurama pointed to the north.

Hiei peered through the trees. "There are some ruins that way. Is it human?"

Kurama sniffed the air again. "I'm not sure. But I definitely smell blood."

Hiei nodded and began leading the way towards the ruins. It took nearly an hour to get there, the dense undergrowth threatening to halt them with every step. Finally, the worn stone steps of the ancient temple came into view. There was a thick moss covering them and the first step Duo took sent him onto his behind in the thick slime-like growth.

"Eww! Gross gross gross!" he whined, scrambling onto his feet again.

WuFei sighed, shaking his head as he climbed the steps. "How you ever became a pilot is beyond me." They climbed the large steps, entering the main room of the old temple. It was remarkably well preserved, the forest not encroaching on the large open space. A warm breeze blew through the high windows and blew about the dead leaves that were there. WuFei squinted at the floor suspiciously. "No dust," he muttered.

The four spread out, looking for stairs or doors that would lead to the rest of the temple. Kurama had just taken the first two steps up a long, spiraling stair when he stopped, head whipping around. "Hiei!"

"I sense him." The fire demon's hand was suddenly enveloped in black fire as he readied himself for a possible attack. "Show your face, kisama. I'll put a nice new hole in it."

A soft laugh echoed through the upper part of the temple, bouncing off the vaulted ceiling. "Well, this _is_ a surprise. In all the years since the tournament, all the times I've tried to get back to you, you have _never_ come to me."

Kurama's lips curled in distaste, as if he'd smelled an extremely bad odor. He hurried down the steps and into the center of the room where he had more room and could not be surprised from behind. "What are you doing here, Karasu?"

WuFei's head turned, first towards the fox, then outward to where he thought the voice was coming from. Karasu. That was the demon whose blood ran in Fei's own veins. At least, that's what he'd been able to gather from Hiei's cryptic threats and Kurama's mumbled fears. His mind whirled with the possibilities of meeting and talking with the demon.

The soft laugh echoed again and WuFei reworked the position of the voice. "Honestly, Fox, that is none of your concern. But if you must know, I've made this my home, for now. What, pray tell, are _you_ doing here."

Kurama sighed in irritation. "Several humans were captured. We are looking for one of them. You wouldn't know anything about that, would you?"

"And if I offered my help, would you truly accept it?" There was a pause and Karasu's laughter echoed again. "No, your pet there would burn me alive. So, since there is no business here, you should probably be on your way."

Duo turned to Kurama. "Could this guy have Quatre?"

Kurama seemed to think about that for a moment. "It is certainly within his power to do something like this, but it doesn't suit him. There'd be no logic to it."

"But he might be able to help us?"

Kurama frowned, thinking again. "He likely has access to information we don't. But there's no way to know if we can trust him."

There was a shuffling of leaves and the soft sound of footsteps. Karasu stepped from around a pillar on an upper level of the large room. His dark hair fell covering most of his face and mask. His pale hands were raised, palms outward as a sign of peace. Hiei tensed at seeing him, but didn't let loose his ball of fire. He didn't allow it to dissipate either, keeping it ready just in case.

Karasu's eyes sparkled and he leapt lightly to the floor. "So, let me get this straight. You are looking for a cat?"

"Quat-re. Quat-re." Duo pronounced each syllable clearly, reiterating with his hands. "We're looking for Quatre."

"The captured ningen," Hiei clarified.

"Hmm. This does not really answer my question. Just because a human has gone missing is no reason for Koenma's best lap dogs to be out looking for him. Especially with two additional humans." His eyes rested on Duo a moment, then flicked to WuFei and back again.

Protectively, Kurama stepped a few paces in front of Duo, hiding him from view. "That is really none of your concern. Have you seen the boy or not?"

Karasu's eyes sparkled again as he smiled beneath his mask. He began walking forward, slowly, towards Kurama and Duo. "I think, perhaps, this boy was taken because he was special. Related to the tantei somehow. Perhaps even by blood. I think these humans traveling with you are similarly related, that must be why they were permitted to tag along."

Hiei took a warning step forward, putting himself between Karasu and the others. "You seem awfully knowledgeable for someone who has nothing to do with this."

"Quite the contrary, I'm only guessing. But it's easy enough to tell. I can easily enough sense his power," Karasu motioned lazily at WuFei who was stepping closer to Duo – safety in numbers. "And I can tell exactly where that one comes from," he was looking at Duo again, seeming to peer right through Kurama. "He truly is tempting. Almost as much as my lovely youko."

"Kisama!" Hiei hissed between clenched teeth. He struck out with his fist, but found only air where Karasu had been standing. He and Kurama both turned to see the pale demon seem to reappear from thin air right behind Duo, hands gently clasped at the base of his thick braid. Hiei was vaguely surprised to see Karasu frozen with a blade pressed against his throat. He was even more surprised to see it wasn't himself holding the weapon.

Almost casually, Karasu turned his eyes to look at WuFei. Lightning fast, he reached out, twisting the Chinese boy's wrist so that the flat of the blade rested against his throat. WuFei reached out instinctively, grabbing Karasu's arm with his free hand. Karasu responded in kind, grabbing Fei's shirt and hurtling him across the large room to land a good twenty paces or more away.

Hiei charged. Duo charged. Both had their weapons out, each shining with black makai fire. Karasu frowned, dropping back. He had no intention of fighting this lot right now. He would take what he'd come out for and leave. Of course, getting to that prize would require a distraction.

Hiei noticed the subtle gathering of power and almost imperceptible movement of hands. He glanced at Duo, still running full speed to avenge his assaulted lover. Hiei made a quick decision and changed direction, sheathing his sword. "Get down!" He tackled Duo, bringing him to the ground and shielding the boy from the explosion only moments later. Hiei quickly looked up, scanning over to Kurama and hoping his fox had escaped the lunatic demon.

Thankfully, Kurama was all right. The explosion had knocked him off his feet, but there was no serious damage. The fox had a rose in his hands, clearly anticipating the attack that should have followed Karasu's explosion. But the crow was nowhere to be seen. He had not touched Kurama, simply fled.

Hiei hurried over to his fox. "Are you all right?"

"Yeah. That was certainly a fancy cover just for an escape, though." Kurama got to his feet and dusted himself off. "I suppose I got off lucky this time. Usually our meetings end much worse than this."

"Where'd he go?" Duo's voice echoed over to the couple. It was tight with fear, strangled. "Where'd that _bastard_ go! Fei! FEI!" Kurama looked around in shock. Sure enough, the Chinese pilot was nowhere to be seen. Duo continued to scream his love's name, running frantically to the door of the huge building.

Silently, Hiei cursed his own stupidity. Of course he'd assumed Karasu would try to go after Kurama, that's what the psycho always did. And that was exactly what Karasu had wanted them to think he'd do again. Their misassumptions had cost them WuFei's freedom. Hiei just hoped it didn't cost the boy's life.

xxxxx

Quatre lay curled on his side when he woke next. He was careful to keep his eyes shut, falling back on training to keep him safe. Mentally he took stock of his wounds and realized it had been more than a day since he was awake last.

He fought back a whimper. Another day gone and still no sign of the others. They were coming for him, weren't they? Even if his time estimate was off, and in this world it easily could be, it had still been quite some time.

"Quatre?" Quatre almost jumped at the voice. The door squeaked open and then shut with a click as Terri entered. "Are you awake? I brought some food." Quatre slowly opened his eyes and rolled to look at her, stiff and sore limbs hindering him. The girl smiled and kneeled before him with a small platter piled with food. "I smuggled it out for you."

Quatre snatched away the small rolls and over ripe fruit immediately. Terri waited patiently until the platter was empty before handing him a large goblet of water. Quatre drank more slowly, embarrassed. "How long have I been here?"

"Nearly five days. You must have been very hungry." Quatre nodded, face falling again. Five days . . . "If he knew I'd brought you food – but much longer and you wouldn't even have strength to move. How _are_ you feeling?"

Quatre did not answer, and that was answer enough. Terri wrapped him in a hug, her gentle healing flowing over his skin, working away his hurt. Quatre leaned into her touch. "Thank you." He could feel his eyes slipping shut again and didn't bother to fight it. In blissful oblivion, he knew he could escape.

His dreams were strange. He was back in the war, but it wasn't OZ he was fighting. Wing and Shenlong floated before him. He could hear Duo cackling from somewhere, but couldn't see Deathscythe. Unable to move, Quatre watched as Shenlong prepared to attack. Suddenly Heavy Arms was there, shielding Sandrock. Quatre watched as Heero turned on Shenlong, going right through its defenses. Heavy Arms turned and Quatre and could see through the armor to Trowa's frowning face. "Don't worry, I'll be there soon." Quatre struggled to move, but could do nothing as an explosion overcame the other gundam.

In the real world, Quatre groaned slightly and leaned further into Terri. She smiled and laughed before lifting his head and laying him fully on the ground. "My, but you have interesting dreams, little one. I can't wait to meet your friends."

xxxxx

Heero was starting to get annoyed at the forest. It was getting so bad that he was cursing the plants aloud. He grabbed the next branch and ripped it away, completely severing it from its tree by pure brute force. Yuusuke, while less violent about it, was getting just as tired of the lush vegetation. He was carving a trail through the forest and the sheer duration of the trek was weakening him severely.

Koenma was no help at all, following the two boys and occasionally demanding a direction change. Suddenly the god stopped, whipping in a quick circle. "Yuusuke!"

The boy whipped around, looking for something Heero couldn't see. "Who the heck is that? Just some demon?"

Heero closed his eyes and focused. Almost immediately a faint ki signature came into view and Heero smiled grimly. It used to take much longer to register the proximity of a demon; a few days of hard training had done wonders. He followed the ki, easily predicting the demon's moves and dodged in plenty of time to avoid a large sticky goo ball. Similar attacks sped at the others, clipping Yuusuke's shoulder and hitting Koenma head on. The god screamed and started to panic as the goo held him, glue-like, to the spot.

"Stupid humans, hold still!"

Heero circled in front of Yuusuke, eyes still tightly shut. "You're tired, stay behind me."

"I can take care of myself, don't baby me, kid."

Heero dropped into a fighting stance the same moment as Yuusuke, both humans sensing the demon come to a stop. Yuusuke blinked, hesitating as a young girl with messy brown hair stepped from the trees. Heero, however, didn't weaken his stance, glaring death at her as he opened his eyes at last. The girl frowned, "I don't recognize you." She suddenly broke into a smile. "You must be the one I missed! Urameshi's spawn."

Heero fought with himself not to charge the girl. "Who are you? What have you done with Quatre!"

"Yes, about that. I seem to recall setting our meeting for three days from now. You would do well to heed my instructions from this day forth."

"That's not good enough!" Yuusuke screamed, running towards the girl. From behind them, Koenma yelled at the boy to stop, but he was already committed to the attack. The girl leapt back, shooting shards of ice from her hands. Yuusuke stumbled, staring at her in shock. "What was that?" he stuttered, incredulous.

Heero stepped forward to fight, but the girl backed off. "No way, I'm not _ready_ to fight you yet. Keep to my instructions, and I'll keep the boy alive. See you soon." With that, she was gone.

Immediately, Yuusuke ran to Koenma, grabbing his shoulders and inadvertently getting caught in the glue himself. "What the heck was that? That was a Koorime attack, but she didn't look like any ice demoness _I've_ ever seen!"

Koenma growled, fighting to free himself. "That's because she was no Koorime. I'm pretty sure that was a mimicking demon. A shape shifter with the ability to copy a person's looks, their abilities, even their ki sense. If that's where Quatre is, I think I know why he was taken – why you were all targeted. Help me get out of this stuff! We have to find the others and regroup.


	7. When Good and Evil Change

Yeah, still taking longer than I'd like, but I'm working on it. Hope you like it.

_

* * *

SMACK!! Quatre's eyes snapped open. The force of the blow sent him rolling across the floor and he cupped his cheek. He caughed and scrambled further away from the strange man glowering at him. "Get up, you little brat." The man had pitch black hair topping his thin, strong build. When Quatre didn't move, he came over and hauled the blonde to his feet by his hair. "I said get up!"_

Quatre tensed up, quickly calculating angles and risk and such. This stranger seemed not as strong as the other creature, maybe he could do something. The brunette pulled his fist back to punch and Quatre went into action. He reached up, deflecting the blow and twisting so he could kick into the strange man's chin. His head snapped back and he stumbled, cursing loudly. Quatre was already moving, pushing off the ground as soon as he landed and sprinting for the door. Abruptly, Quatre stumbled, electricity coursing through his body. A powerful hand grabbed his shoulder, pushing Quatre around. It was the blonde demon. He was bleeding badly from a split lip, but Quatre had no chance to wonder on the injury as a blade was shoved into his side.

"You little bastard! I won't lose you!"

Quatre gripped the man's wrist and glared. "I wouldn't bet on that." The demon yelped, pulling his hand away. Quatre stared at the pale, almost blue flesh before taking off again. He tripped, screaming, and grabbed at the thin collar, but this time he didn't stop as he was shocked again. He was getting out.

Running blind, Quatre was glad the building was small; he burst through another door and was suddenly outside in the blinding sunlight. He hesitated a moment before dodging around a few startled youkai and into the surrounding wood. He leaned against a tree, keeping one eye on the building he'd just left. The blonde demon stood just outside the door, glaring at the thick trees. "Think about this, little one. You're in a hostile land, _wounded_, and you're completely lost. And on top of the wild animals that will be hunting you, I will not let you get away, Quatre." Quatre bit his lip and ducked further into the forest, still listening to the demon. "You idiots, get out there and find him. I want that boy!"

The forest seemed never ending, but Quatre couldn't stop. Every breath hurt and he knew the dagger clipped either his lung or his diaphram. Finally he stopped, sitting and holding his aching chest. If he didn't heal, he was going to bleed to death. He could already feel his eyes getting heavy. There was a sudden, gentle heat, and Quatre couldn't help drifting to sleep.

* * *

"A mimic demon?" Kuwwabara was scratching his head. "Have we faught a mimicking demon?"

Yuusuke growled, still picking bits of glue from his hands. "Well, we must have. Or we beat the creep's brother or something like that."

Trowa was pacing behind the men. "So when we get to Quatre, it might not be Quatre at all?"

Koaenma nodded, doing his best to peel glue from his robes. "Not only that, but our lovely shapeshifter could have any number of bodies and abilities at his disposal. No doubt, he wanted all this time to prepare. Maybe even learn behavior from Quatre to fool us with.. Mimickers can learn about a person over time. On one's really sure, but we think they've got some phsychic abilities to do it."

Heero pinned the god with a glare. "Psychic? She can read his _mind_? Quatre knows a _lot_ about Gundams and who knows how much else!"

Yuusuke growled, matching Heero's glare at the god. "And what about his knowledge about his friends? He could come out with some phobia that would paralize Duo or one of the others!" He shut his mouth with a clack and looked at Duo. "Then again, that's already happened."

Duo sat against a wall, curled in Kurama's lap. The two boys hadn't participated at all in this little breifing session, trusting Hiei to listen and tell them the important parts. Hiei had told the others shortly that Fei was gone and they would not mention it. So far, they'd allowed the silence so the other boys could mourn as they needed. Now they could not allow such a luxery.

Slowly Koenma went over to the two. "Kumara? What happened?"

The youko looked up, pulling Duo closer to his chest. "We were attacked by Karasu. When he left, WuFei was gone too. We can only assume he was taken."

Koenma gave a little groan and started pacing with Trowa. Heero stood abruptly and stalked over to the two of them. "That doesn't tell us anything," he growled. "Duo, I need a _real_ mission report."

The braided boy sniffed, wiping at his eyes and pulling away from Kurama. He stared at the ground, eyes darting back and forth as he remembered. "Um...sniff...We came to a temple. Fei and us spread out, looking for whoever was there. Then, uh, that demon creepy guy –"

"Karasu," Kurama supplied.

"Yeah. Karasu made himself known. He bargained, distracting us and gaging our abilities. After he presented himself, he deliberately provoked Fei and then the rest of us. We acted foolishly and attacked recklessly. He distracted us and by the time we recovered, they were gone."

Heero nodded and reviewed the story in silence for a moment. The others were in shock that Duo, even in such a horrible state, could recall such detail. Not to mention read so much into actions that would have meant nothing to them. Heero frowned at Duo. "He provoked WuFei first?"

Duo nodded, still staring at the ground. "He targeted Fei specifically. He mentioned being able to sense his ki." Duo stopped, a realization forming. "He didn't hurt him. He wanted him for something else."

Heero nodded, pleased that he'd managed to snap Duo out of it. "So now we have two objectives. But Quatre is still our priority."

"But what do we do?" The group fell silent again, all eyes turning to Yukina. "I mean, since it's a shapeshifter, it's even more important to meet on our terms, not his. But we're running out of time."

The room was silent and still, Duo's sniffling the only noise for quite a while. Finally, Trowa turned on his heel. "I'm going back out there. I'm going to find him."

Yukina jumped as if shocked. "No, Trowa-san! It's getting dark and you've been working all day. You can't help him if you're too exhausted!" She reached for his arm, but Trowa pulled out of her reach and out into the forest again. Yukina watched after him, worrying her lower lip between her teeth. She turned to Hiei with big eyes. "Please go with him!"

Hiei nodded and moved back to Kurama and Duo, hugging them shortly before flitting into the darkening forest.


End file.
